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They may come from very different backgrounds but it seems there's a great deal of respect between Paul Mullin and Wrexham director Humphrey Ker.

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Mullin warm in praise of director KerSays club wouldn't be same without himRecalls famous scene in Welcome to WrexhamGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Ker was dispatched to Wrexham as the eyes and ears of new owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and has become a key part in the rise of the club. And it seems he's won the hearts and minds of everyone at Wrexham including the club's talismanic striker, who was full of affection for the man who staked his job on bringing him to north Wales. Mullin recalled the famous scene from when Ker urged Reynolds and McElhenney to go all-out for Mullin, while lavishing praise on Wrexham's executive director in his recently-published book .

AdvertisementGettyWHAT PAUL MULLIN SAID ABOUT HUMPHREY KER

"Truth is, Humphrey’s a fantastic bloke," wrote Mullin. "Loved by the players as much as he is by everyone else at the club. In all honesty, Wrexham without Humphrey Ker just wouldn’t be Wrexham. Eton-educated and a seasoned stage performer he might be, but actually he couldn’t be a more natural part of the club – always there wanting to help, making sure the players have got everything they need, just a really positive presence.

"Humphrey’s the complete embodiment of Wrexham FC, a club that might still be battling away at the wrong end of the National League were it not for his little chat with his pal Rob. Humphrey also played a massive role in bringing me to the Racecourse.

"He’s on film putting his job on the line when it comes to assuring the club that signing me will bring promotion. On the night it actually happened, I couldn’t resist. ‘Congratulations,’ I told him, ‘I’ve just saved your job!’"

GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

A famous early scene in sees the softly-spoken Ker introduce himself to the playing staff shortly after Reynolds and McElhenney take control of the club. As Ker leaves the room, the squad chuckle, giving the distinct impression that he's unlikely to fit into the bawdy world of lower-league professional football. But Mullin's glowing words underline how much a part of Wrexham's success Ker is accountable for and how much affection the players have for him.

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WHAT NEXT FOR MULLIN AND KER?

Ker will be hoping Mullin's goals can fire Wrexham to a second-consecutive promotion and further underline his bold call to go all out to bring the striker to the Racecourse Ground.

Buy your copy of Paul Mullin's brilliant new autobiography My Wrexham Story on Amazon.

Royal Challengers Bangalore set up a clash with Chennai Super Kings for a place in the final as they sent Rajasthan Royals out of the tournament with a commanding performance

The Report by Abhishek Purohit20-May-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:57

Agarkar: Royals needed openers to get some runs

Royal Challengers Bangalore set up a clash with Chennai Super Kings for a place in the final as they sent Rajasthan Royals out of the tournament with a commanding performance.Two of the big three Royal Challengers batsmen failed, but the third, AB de Villiers, made up for that with 66 off 38. Mandeep Singh chose a knockout game to make the first half-century of the season from a Royal Challengers batsman not answering to those three big names. De Villiers and Mandeep added 113 for the third wicket at more than 10 an over to propel Royal Challengers to 180 for 4. On a ground with a highest successful chase of 166 in the IPL, it was too many runs in the pressure of a must-win chase. Royals crumbled without any fight, losing wickets regularly to go down by 71 runs.On a hard and grassy but also two-paced pitch, Royal Challengers lost Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli to Dhawal Kulkarni by the eighth over before reaching 50. Mandeep and de Villiers took a few deliveries to get their bearings before decisively batting Royals out of the match.Mandeep started the counter when he pulled and lofted Kulkarni for consecutive boundaries in the tenth over. Still, Royal Challengers were going at run a ball at the halfway mark. They were to take 86 off the last six overs, Royals’ death-bowling letting them down again as none of those overs went for less than 11.No batsman barring Mandeep and de Villiers was able to time the ball consistently on the Pune pitch. Mandeep was strong on the pull and the cut. Gradually, de Villiers found his hitting rhythm too, against left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma in the 15th over, when he slogged two sixes and powered a four to deep extra cover.James Faulkner went for 42 from four overs to end a disappointing season with an economy-rate of 9.46. Chris Morris had a rare off day too, leaking the same number of runs.With such a stiff target, Royals needed their top order to come good. It wasn’t to be. Shane Watson chased and nicked a wide one from S Aravind in the second over. Sanju Samson’s promotion to No. 3 did not work as Harshal Patel bounced him out. With the asking-rate galloping, Steven Smith grew desperate for the big hit and holed out off David Wiese.Helpless to stop the exit of batsmen at the other end, and struggling to get the measure of the pitch, Ajinkya Rahane departed for 42 off 39 in the 14th over. There was to be no sparkle from Deepak Hooda. There was to be no finishing from Faulkner. There was to be only a heavy defeat.

Virat Kohli eased some of the doubts over India’s ability to compete in South Africa with a superbly crafted century that made it at least an even first day

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran18-Dec-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
0:00

Manjrekar: India’s day

Virat Kohli hit the spinners for 50 off 44 deliveries•Associated PressIt’s been a while since India entered a series as much of an underdog as they are on this South Africa visit – even the whitewashes in England and Australia began as a clash of equals. Bereft of the batting legends that have forged India’s most successful decade in Tests, and even of proper match practice ahead of this short series, there were widespread doubts over their ability to compete.Virat Kohli, the man who occupied the fabled No. 4 spot after Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement, eased some of that anxiety with a superbly crafted century and at the end of an intriguing day of Test cricket in Johannesburg, the teams were more or less on level terms. The hallmarks of Kohli’s innings were the perfectly judged leaves outside off, even as South Africa’s pacers persistently probed away, and his punishment of the wayward spinners – caning 50 off 44 deliveries from them – to ensure he didn’t get bogged down.The one big mistake he committed on the day was the muddled calling that led to the run-out of Cheteshwar Pujara, snapping an 89-run stand that had revived India after the openers departed early. India were 24 for 2 then and memories of previous overseas collapses came rushing back.Kohli’s first runs on a track where the bounce was more of a worry than the lateral movement was an authoritative pull for four off Jacques Kallis. He was troubled early on by South Africa’s best bowler of the day, Morne Morkel, who had Kohli top-edging and then inside-edging off successive deliveries. After that, though, Kohli was completely in control.In the first hour after lunch, South Africa employed a strategy that involved keeping the ball in the channel outside off and mixing it up with the odd short delivery. Neither the attempts to play on the batsmen’s patience nor the attempts to unsettle them with the rising delivery worked as Kohli and Pujara kept their calm and wore down the pacers.While the weaker links in the South African attack came in for the most stick, Kohli also went after Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander when they strayed from their usual discipline. A majority of his runs came square of the wicket, with several eye-catching pulls and drives past point and cover.The pressure was building after tea as South Africa strung together a bunch of maidens with Kohli in the 90s. Perhaps influenced by the flagging over-rate, Graeme Smith turned to JP Duminy who, like Imran Tahir, struggled to land the ball and Kohli picked off the nine runs he needed to reach a landmark century.Pujara was the other batsman whose technique and temperament promised big runs, and after surviving a couple of close calls early, he settled in. For two hours, with Kohli for company, he kept South Africa at bay. South Africa had turned to the erratic Tahir for a breakthrough, and India finally thought they had some relief, only for the mix-up with Kohli resulting in Pujara’s run-out.The other batsmen didn’t adjust their game to the conditions as well. M Vijay and Rohit Sharma both went for over-ambitious drives away from their body, only to nick behind to undo the good work they had done in getting their eye in.The other wicket was a fast bowler’s dream. Steyn normally relies on his late and natural out swing, but sensing the surface wasn’t providing him enough, he unleashed a string of bouncers against Shikhar Dhawan in the ninth over. Dhawan, never shy of the aggressive stroke, kept going for his shots as Steyn banged it in short four times in a row; the first went for an unconvincing boundary towards backward square leg, the next flew off the handle towards gully, the third was left down the leg side before an attempted hook landed safely in the hands of fine leg. Steyn’s chainsaw celebration showed how thrilled he was at the perfectly executed plan.It wasn’t perfect planning but a loose stroke that ended Kohli’s innings midway through the final session, as he chipped Kallis to cover on 119. Had he still been in the middle at stumps, it would have definitely been India’s day.There were heartening signs for India even after his exit though, as Ajinkya Rahane and MS Dhoni played out the final hour in fading light without too many alarms. After a difficult debut in Delhi against Australia early this year, Rahane had a long wait to get another look-in, and he didn’t look out of place as he kept out everything South Africa threw at him in an extended final session.More of the same tomorrow morning and India will end on a score that will challenge South Africa’s mighty batting line-up.

The Deccan Chargers bowlers strived to earn their side a maiden victory in this season of the IPL but, even on a slow pitch that turned, they did not have enough runs to defend

The Report by George Binoy22-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGautam Gambhir held the first half of the chase together•AFPThe Deccan Chargers bowlers strived to earn their side a maiden victory in this season of the IPL but, even on a slow pitch that turned, they did not have enough runs to defend. The upshot was a fifth consecutive defeat for the home side while Kolkata Knight Riders drew level with the other top teams in the tournament with their fourth win. The finish, however, was far more tense and hard fought than was expected after Chargers had been limited to only 126.For the briefest of periods, Chargers looked like posting a stronger total. And then, though wickets did not fall in a heap, the scoring-rate began to splutter and the innings stuttered. The odd boundary would be followed by periods of low productivity, depriving Chargers of all momentum. The Knight Riders’ chase followed a similar pattern – at no stage did the batsmen consistently dominate the bowling. However, they kept the situation under control by staying abreast with the asking-rate, ensuring the pressure did not get too intense to handle.While Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis were steering the chase, Knight Riders were in control. Then Gambhir mis-hit Anand Rajan to mid-off, leaving his team on 64 for 3 in 9.5 overs. Yusuf Pathan clouted one six off the spinner Ankit Sharma before trying to slog the next ball and getting bowled. Kallis, however, stayed calm and in the company of Manoj Tiwary took Knight Riders slowly but steadily towards their target.Things came to a head when Kumar Sangakkara brought back Dale Steyn for his final over, with 26 to defend off 24 balls. Kallis drove hard at the first ball, and edged past the keeper for four. The second, he edged to the keeper. Steyn, now pumped, bowled with hostility at Debabrata Das. He then got into a minor confrontation with Tiwary, who came towards the bowler to exchange words after playing to mid-off, and then had to scramble back as Kumar Sangakkara threw at the stumps but missed.The pressure built up in the 18th over – Knight Riders scored only 3 off four balls – and 17 were needed from 14 deliveries. Then Das lofted Veer Pratap Singh towards long-on, where Rajan ran in but misjudged the catch, costing his side a wicket and two runs. Chargers, whose coach Darren Lehmann had said they fielded like 14-year olds earlier in the week, had fluffed their last chance.The start in Cuttack had been delayed by a little more than an hour because of rain, but no overs were lost. Before the interruption, however, both captains had got what they wanted at the toss, with Sangakkara saying he would have batted after Gambhir chose to bowl. Sangakkara did not go on to have a good day, losing his middle stump to L Balaji after a scratchy 12 off 15 balls.Shikhar Dhawan, on the other hand, was spunky at the start. In the third over, he heaved Yusuf, who had opened the bowling with his offspin, over wide long-on for six. Little did Chargers know that it would be the innings’ only six, until Steyn hit one in the 20th over. Dhawan also pulled and drove Brett Lee powerfully for four, gathering five boundaries in his first 22 balls. Little did Dhawan know he would not hit another one in his next 28.Chargers had made 30 for 0 after four overs when the slowdown began, with Sunil Narine and Balaji operating with discipline. After Sangakkara fell, Dhawan and Parthiv Patel batted without dominating the bowling. Parthiv was eventually run out in the 12th over, but even Cameron White, who replaced Daniel Christian for this game, could not improve Chargers’ situation. He fell slogging Lee to deep square leg; Lee’s last two overs, the 15th and 17th, yielded only four runs.Dhawan had anchored the innings but he too was going nowhere, and his struggle ended when he mis-hit a full toss from Rajat Bhatia to deep midwicket. He was gone for a run-a-ball 50. He would say later that the pitch was hard to bat on. Knight Riders also found batting tough, but they were tough enough to get over the line.

Rajasthan will be without their swing bowler Deepak Chahar for the Ranji Trophy Elite quarter-final clash against Hyderabad starting on Monday, because he’s down with jaundice

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jan-2012Rajasthan will be without their swing bowler Deepak Chahar for the Ranji Trophy Elite quarter-final clash against Hyderabad starting on Monday, because he’s down with jaundice. Chahar made the headlines last season when he took a record 8 for 21 on Ranji debut to skittle out the same opponents for 21.Rajasthan batsman Aakash Chopra was hopeful their strike bowler will be available for the next match, should the defending champions progress.”He is a good prospect and his presence would have given us psychological edge since he was the one who had floored them single-handedly in our first match last season,” Chopra told . “He is suffering from jaundice and that would leave him very weak. Hopefully he would be available for the next match.”Hyderabad qualified for the Elite knockouts after advancing from the Plate league, and Chopra said his team should guard against complacency especially since they’re playing on Hyderabad’s home turf.”We beat Hyderabad hands down when they came here last season but we would not underestimate them,” Chopra said. “They would be playing at their home ground and any team which qualifies for quarter-finals must be a good team. We won’t be complacent and we are thinking about one match at a time.”

A round-up of matches from the fifth day of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2012Group BA career best Twenty20 performance from Louis Klazinga helped Namibia beat Kenya by seven wickets and maintain their perfect record in the ICC World T20 qualifiers. Klazinga rocked Kenya with a spell of 3-1-9-4, precipitating a collapse that saw Kenya crumble from 84 for 1 to 108 all out. Raymond van Schoor led Namibia’s chase with 49 from 48 balls, as they won their fifth straight game with 3.3 overs to spare. Duncan Allan and Collins Obuya were coasting along, having added 71 in 9.3 overs when Klazinga was handed the ball. The way he started gave no indication of what was to come, as the batsman milked six runs from his first five deliveries, which included a wide. However, he trapped Obuya leg before with his fifth legal delivery to trigger panic in Kenya’s ranks. Tanmay Mishra and Ragheb Aga were snapped up in his second over while Rakep Patel was stumped in his third over. Christi Viljoen then joined taking party, taking 2 for 5 in 1.4 overs as the rest of Kenya’s line-up succumbed meekly. Another solid performance from van Schoor at the top of the order took Namibia home and kept them in first place in Group B, two points ahead of Ireland.In a match that pitted two winless teams against each other, the USA bowlers managed to limit Oman and give their team their first victory, by 30 runs, in five games. USA chose to bat, and were steered through most of their innings by captain Sushil Nadkarni. Nadkarni scored 59 off 47, and with a few others contributing cameos, USA were propelled to 141 for 7. In reply, none of the Oman batsmen could quite get going and apart from a second-wicket stand of 54 between Vaibhav Wategaonkar and Adnan Ilyas, there was no resistance. Medium-pacer Japen Patel was the most incisive for USA, taking three wickets as Oman were restricted to 111 for 7.Italy, led by fast bowler Gareth Berg, stifled Uganda to register a 13-run victory. Italy were inserted and, driven by cameos from their middle order, got to 131 for 7. Damian Crowley top scored with 44. In the chase, Berg did much of the damage in a tidy spell, taking 4 for 20 in 3.4 overs. There were also three run outs, as Uganda folded for 118 to hand Italy the match.A fine unbeaten 78 by Ed Joyce guided Ireland towards the knockout phase of the ICC World Twenty20 qualifier with a comfortable win over Scotland. Read full report here.Group ANepal drew level with Canada on six points in Group A but were in fourth place on net run-rate after their 24-run win against Bermuda. Paras Khadka, the Nepal captain, made an unbeaten 65 off 48 balls to lead his team to 151 for 6. He was supported by Sharad Vesawkar, who made 44. Dion Stovell was Bermuda’s best bowler, taking 4 for 25 in his four-over spell. Bermuda were restricted to 127 for 5 in their reply, an innings that included 20 extras. Janeiro Tucker (32) was the only batsman to make more than 30. Shakti Gauchan took 3 for 17 in four overs for Nepal.A powerful all-round performance from Samiullah Shenwari led Afghanistan to their fifth consecutive victory in the UAE, beating Canada by 41 runs. Read the full report here.A commanding batting performance from Netherlands helped them ease to a nine-wicket win against Papua New Guinea (PNG), with all of 20 balls to spare. PNG chose to bat and got to 140 for 7 chiefly due to a partnership of 95 for the third-wicket between Tony Ura and Chris Amini. The opener Ura top scored with 70, while captain Peter Borren was the most effective of the Netherlands bowlers, claiming three wickets with his medium-pace. Chasing 141, the Netherlands openers settled in, scoring 96 in 11 overs to all but seal the match. Stephan Myburgh and Michael Swart scored half centuries each, as Netherlands breezed home in the 17th over.Irfan Ahmed scored an unbeaten 91 to set up Hong Kong’s 35-run win against Denmark. Irfan justified Hong Kong’s decision to bat, knocking around 91 from 60 and batting through the innings. As a result, Hong Kong put on 170 for 5, despite legspinner Bobby Chawla picking up three wickets in a tidy spell. In the chase, no one could score more than Aftab Ahmed’s 39, with Kinchit Shah knocking over middle order batsmen regularly with his offspin. Shah finished with 4 for 21, as Denmark managed only 135 for 9 in their 20.

Ireland fought back to win by five runs after Shakib Al Hasan’s blistering half-century

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2012
Scorecard
Shakib Al Hasan’s 53 took up only 23 deliveries•Bangladesh Cricket BoardIreland fought hard to beat Bangladesh by five runs in their final warm-up match at Moors Sports Club in Colombo. Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien were the heroes at two ends of the game though it was Trent Johnston’s tight final over that ensured two wins out of two in the preparation phase after having crushed Zimbabwe by 54 runs. Bangladesh’s best player, Shakib Al Hasan, was outstanding with bat and ball but couldn’t prevent defeat.After an hour’s delay due to wet conditions, Stirling dominated the opening stand of 46 with captain William Porterfield before adding 64 for the second wicket with Ed Joyce. It was broken when Stirling fell to Elias Sunny for a 41-ball 71, letting Bangladesh enough room to fight back. Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe helped restrict them to 164-6 after they had rushed to the 100-mark in the 11th-over assault on Mahmudullah that went for 24.Bangladesh began in similar fashion though they lost Mohammad Ashraful in the second over. Tamim Iqbal and Shakib added 63 in 6.1 overs before Tamim was caught and bowled by Alex Cusack. Shakib kept up the rate with a 23-ball fifty but his dismissal sparked off a collapse, for the second game in a row. O’Brien did the damage picking up three important wickets – captain Mushfiqur Rahim, Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah – in the space of ten balls. All three batsmen have shown the ability to finish games in the past, but even though the asking-rate wasn’t too high, they were unable to complete the job.Ziaur Rahman and Mashrafe Mortaza steadied the chase but when Mortaza fell in the penultimate over, Sunny played four dot balls in a row and the game swung back in Ireland’s favour. The win was all but confirmed when Johnston removed the dangerous Ziaur off the third ball of the final over.When ten overs remained, all Bangladesh needed was 62, with eight wickets in hand, and victory seemed certain. Bangladesh managed to lose their way, though, much to Shakib’s disappointment. “I honestly think this should actually shake us up a little,” he said after the defeat. “I believe we lacked intensity in the last ten overs because with the batting we have there is no reason why we should lose that game from the position we were in. You always learn more from defeats.”Shakib also stressed that the team morale shouldn’t dip despite the reverse against an Associate nation. “Practice games are important but they are not that important that you should start feeling demoralised over a loss in such games. These matches allow you to assess where you are at individually and as a team and you work on the findings.”

Despite an indifferent conclusion to England’s overseas winter in New Zealand, the selectors are unlikely to see the need for significant changes

Andrew McGlashan10-May-2013Despite an indifferent conclusion to England’s overseas winter in New Zealand, the selectors are unlikely to see the need for significant changes for the start of the home summer that will be dominated by the Ashes but firstly includes the return series against Australia’s close neighbours.One major figure will be missing, but another is set to return. Kevin Pietersen’s right knee, which forced him to miss the final Test in Auckland, continues to be a problem and he will not be available for England duty until at least the start of the Ashes and even that must be shrouded in doubt with the injury proving more problematic than had been envisaged in March.In New Zealand, where a drawn series was salvaged by Matt Prior’s hundred in Auckland, England were also without Graeme Swann and his absence left a hole equal to that of Pietersen’s. Swann’s elbow surgery in the USA has, so far, proved a success and his return for Nottinghamshire has been tentatively encouraging although there must be questions over whether his workload – one Championship game and two YB40 matches – has been enough to really test the recovery.Still, his return in place of Monty Panesar – always a bowler more comfortable operating in tandem rather than solo – appears a matter of course. The summer ahead will place a huge burden on Swann, and there do not appear many obvious gaps for a rest, so in every sense it is make or break for his right elbow.Pietersen’s absence from the middle order will be filled again by Jonny Bairstow, who was drafted into the final Test at Eden Park having played one first-class innings since last September. His twin failures were predictable, and understandable, but he has impressed at the start of this season for Yorkshire and should have done enough to ward off his nearest challengers, which include England Lions team-mates James Taylor (despite him not being named in the performance squad) and Ravi Bopara who is back in favour with the selectors in one-day cricket.Bairstow will also have fond memories of Lord’s, the scene of his Test debut against West Indies last year and also his most convincing Test performance, when he made 95 and 54 against South Africa after, again, being an understudy for Pietersen. His technique has, at times, been picked apart at Test level but that is a rite of passage for young player.Perhaps the most interesting names in the squad will be the extra pace bowlers included alongside the current trio of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn. The latter, according to reports from the County Championship, has not quite hit top form for Middlesex and following on from the tour of New Zealand he has now usurped Broad as the man under most pressure for his place.In New Zealand, questions started to be asked about the true depth of England’s back-up quicks. Graham Onions’ form fell apart in Queenstown while Chris Woakes did not convince that he was ready to be a third seamer for a Test match. Onions, as he was always likely to do, has returned to wicket-taking form for Durham (he is currently the leading wicket-taker in Division One) but whether that means he remains a viable Test option is another issue. The difference in level between Championship and Test cricket is distinct, as it should be.The odds favour Onions being retained in the squad and if England name 13 in the party for Lord’s it could open the way for a return for Tim Bresnan who, like Swann, underwent elbow surgery earlier this year. He has made an encouraging start to the season with Yorkshire, taking 11 wickets at 27.63, and while there may be a clamour for the selectors to go for a younger option – such as Woakes or Toby Roland-Jones – Bresnan has retained the support of the England management. While it is clearly true there were times in the last 12 months when Bresnan should not have played, it is also wide of the mark to suggest his earlier Test form was a fluke.Possible squad Alastair Cook, Nick Compton, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham Onions/Tim Bresnan

The Afghanistan Cricket Board has sought the help of the Indian board to develop cricket in the country

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2013The Afghanistan Cricket Board has sought the help of the Indian board to develop cricket in the country. Officials from the ACB met BCCI representatives in Mumbai on Sunday to discuss how the Indian board could support Afghanistan cricket.”We had a good meeting with BCCI honorary secretary (Sanjay Jagdale) and general manager for game development (Ratnakar Shetty),” Shahzada Masoud, the ACB chairman, said. “It’s in the initial stage. We want to build up good relations with BCCI. We want help to develop technical staff, coaches, umpires, scorers and video analysts.”Also present at the meeting held at the Cricket Club of India was ACB’s high performance programme manager, Basheer Stanekzai. “We are preparing a new Under-19 team as the last World Cup team is over-aged.” he said. “We have selected a 20-member squad. We are working on it and preparing for the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) Under-19 Cup to be held in Malaysia from May 1 to 12. That’s the qualification round for the next U-19 World Cup. We need good coaches, especially in terms of batting.”The meeting comes a week after Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan called on the BCCI to do more to help Afghanistan cricket, highlighting England’s support for their neighbouring Associate nations.

On the day Tillakaratne Dilshan officially announced his retirement, Kusal Perera made a play at his vacated opening position, slamming 150 from 142 balls on a rain-effected day three of the four-dayer at the P Sara Oval

Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Oct-2013
ScorecardOn the day Tillakaratne Dilshan officially announced his retirement, Kusal Perera made a play at his vacated opening position, slamming 150 from 142 balls on a rain-effected day three of the four-dayer at the P Sara Oval. Development XI could not offer much else with the bat though, as they finished the day on 299 for 9, in response to Board XI’s 575.Offspinner Sachithra Senanayake took three wickets in the day, while medium-pace bowlers Nuwan Kulasekara and Suranga Lakmal took two apiece. Board XI will struggle to push for an outright win however, after 49 overs were lost to rain early in the day.Perera began the day on 70, and though he lost overnight partner Shehan Jayasuriya in the first over, he continued to score briskly, as he had the previous evening. Development XI lost four batsmen to pace bowling in the first 12 overs of the day, during which Perera scored all but six of the runs to come off the bat. He hit12 fours and six sixes in his innings, and was eventually trapped in front by Senanayake.Niroshan Dickwella was the only other batsman to make more than 15 on day three, hitting 42 before giving Ajantha Mendis his only wicket. Malinda Pushpakumara and Vishwa Fernando finished unbeaten at stumps.